Monday, October 6th, 2003

Don't Take Your Guns To Town

It seems pretty stupid to pick on a movie like The Rundown for its shortcomings in the department of sociological commentary, but while I enjoyed pretty much every other aspect of it, there was one key plot point during the climax that really rubbed me the wrong way. I won’t get into it in case anyone hasn’t seen it yet, but MacGyver would be hella disappointed. Actually, if anyone wants to read about it, click on the ‘Read More’ link down below. Or click here.

Anyway, besides this major issue (to me, anyway), The Rundown was a lot of fun – The Rock has got my vote for the new top action hero. He’s got charm, he’s got the moves and he can actually act – at least as well as he needs to. He’s a damn sight better than Schwarzenegger or Van Damme ever was, anyway. Christopher Walken, who is always a treat, was also in top (or over the top) form. Seann William Scott essentially gets to play Stiffler in the jungle – the writers didn’t really bother trying to give him any sort of distinctive character, and by film’s end, you’re still not sure if he was meant to be a selfish brat or a selfless philantropist. And you don’t much care, you just want to see him get his ass kicked again.

My other main viewing material this weekend offered no disappointment whatsoever – seasons one and two of The Family Guy. This stuff is gold. It’s kinda sucky to have to watch it on my computer through headphones, but I’ll be rectifying my no-DVD player-ness this week. Schweeeet.

So throughout the movie, the Rock doesn’t like guns. They make a big deal of this. He beats up the bad guys with his bare hands or stuff he picks up and beats them with it. He has fancy moves for disarming guns whilst fighting. This is fine, and I actually like that, while it’s obviously not a political position or anything, that the hero won’t use guns. But then, at the end, the only way he can be a hero is to compromise his principles and go in, guns a-blazing. And while he alludes earlier to the fact that ‘bad things happen when I pick up a gun’, when he actually does, he only manages to save the day. No consequences. What the hell is that? Are we meant to cheer this? Is the point really supposed to be that when push comes to shove, guns are the only way to win? That left a mighty bitter taste in my mouth. If you’re gonna have him use guns, don’t fucking say he won’t. And don’t try to make him seem noble about it, cause he’s fucking not.

I find it somewhat telling that of all the reviews I’ve been reading, only one has called the movie on this point. Maybe no one else found it strange or objectionable? Geez. Okay, I think I’m done with that.

I think the only real reason it didn’t totally sicken me is that earlier in the movie Stiffler asks the Rock something along the lines of "Even if the only way to save your best friend was to use one, you still wouldn’t?" And the Rock basically says "Ya, I still wouldn’t.". But then of course, when that scenario actually arises, he does end up using them… because he’s just a big softie.